Doc & Al's Camp & Cabin Prices
Ask anyone who has ever tried to book a cabin in the north woods what the hardest part is, and they'll tell you it's not finding a place. It's figuring out what the place actu...
Ask anyone who has ever tried to book a cabin in the north woods what the hardest part is, and they'll tell you it's not finding a place. It's figuring out what the place actually costs before you hand over your credit card and your firstborn.
Doc & Al's, thank goodness, prints its prices on one laminated sheet taped to the office wall. Reading it feels like getting a straight answer from a used-car salesman — rare, disorienting, and oddly moving.
The Cabins: Where the Money Goes First
Start with the cabins, because that's where most of your paycheck is headed. The standard two-bedroom knotty-pine job — the one with the screen door that slams like a gunshot and the couch that has hosted forty years of damp swimsuits — runs $145 a night Sunday through Thursday.
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On weekends that same cabin jumps to $175, because apparently a Friday night is worth thirty extra dollars and nobody at Doc & Al's is going to apologize for it.
It sleeps six, assuming four of those six are children and one is a golden retriever who has been told he's a person. Extra humans beyond the base occupancy cost $12 a head per night, which is a polite way of saying "your brother-in-law is not free."
Book a full week and the seventh night costs nothing — a genuine, no-catch deal that has convinced at least one family to stay an extra day and regret it somewhere around hour nineteen.
The big three-bedroom cabin, the one they call The Muskie, sleeps ten and goes for $265 a night or roughly $1,600 a week in peak July. Split ten ways, that's cheaper than a mediocre hotel near an airport, and the view comes with actual loons instead of a parking garage.
Come in May or October and the rate drops by 30 to 40 percent. Bring a sweater, bring a deck of cards, and enjoy having the whole lake to yourself while the mosquitoes are still asleep.
Camping: Cheaper, Damp, and Worth It
If the cabins are full — and in August they absolutely are — the campground is your next stop.
A plain tent site with a picnic table and a fire ring costs $32 a night. Add water and electric and it's $48, while full hookup for the RV crowd runs $58.
127 Doctors Cabin Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty
There's also a rustic bunkhouse where a single bunk rents for $28 per person per night. The mattresses are honest about their age, and the snoring is included at no extra charge.
Dogs are welcome at $15 per night each, with a strict two-dog maximum that has been explained to Kevin repeatedly and has not yet sunk in.
The Extras: Where They Really Get You
Nobody makes money on cabins. They make money on the small stuff, and Doc & Al's is very good at the small stuff.
Boats, Docks, and Things That Float
A dock slip is $20 a day or $110 a week, which sounds reasonable until you remember you also need something to put in it.
That aluminum boat with the motor that starts reliably on Tuesdays goes for $45 a day, motor included, prayers extra. Canoes and kayaks are $25 a day or $60 for three days, and the paddles float, which is more than can be said for your phone.
Firewood and Other Small Conspiracies
Firewood is $9 a bundle, and they will politely refuse the wood you hauled from three states away. Moving firewood spreads invasive pests, and the emerald ash borer does not need a ride.
Ice, bait, and a shower that runs on quarters are all priced at "you'll barely notice," which is exactly how a resort gets you to spend forty dollars on vacation without blinking.
About — Hunewill's Doc and Al's Resort
The Fees Nobody Reads Until It's Too Late
Leave the cabin reasonably tidy and you owe nothing extra. Leave it looking like a raccoon hosted a wedding and you'll meet the $75 cleaning fee, which is fair, and also inevitable.
Deposits run one night's stay or 25 percent of the total, whichever stings more. Cancel less than fourteen days out and that deposit stays at camp, probably buying new minnow buckets.
Sales tax of about 5.5 percent gets added at the end, so the number you memorized is not the number you'll pay. Budget for it and you'll be fine.
The Bottom Line, Which Is Somehow Still a Deal
Compare this to a hotel: $189 a night, plus a resort fee, plus parking, plus eight dollars for the tiny bottle of water sitting on the dresser.
At Doc & Al's you pay $145, park wherever, and drink water from the tap like a pioneer.
You also get a loon screaming at 5:47 in the morning at absolutely no charge, whether you requested it or not.
Prices shift with the seasons and the owner's mood, so call ahead and confirm. Bring cash, bring a chair, and bring someone who knows how to start a boat motor.
